Born in North Carolina, actor and comedian Andy Griffith was known for playing the wise, gentle Southern patriarch, both in the 1960s sitcom The Andy Griffith Show and the 1980s-'90s legal drama Matlock.

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Originally published on July 3, 2012 6:06 pm

In a career that spanned half a century, actor and comedian Andy Griffith starred in five different television series, made more than 30 movies and even recorded a Grammy Award-winning gospel album. He died Tuesday morning in North Carolina at the age of 86.

Griffith had many starring performances, but there was one role that defined him for generations of fans. He was 34 years old in 1960 when he ventured into weekly television for the first time. The result was The Andy Griffith Show, an iconic series about an idyllic place — the fictional town of Mayberry, N.C., which seemed far removed from the real-life turbulence of the 1960s. Griffith reminisced about his starring role as Andy Taylor in a 1986 NPR interview.

"What was really the backbone of the show — we never talked about it — but the backbone of the show and the thrust of the show was love," he said, "the deep regard that these people had for one another."

Griffith's success as a comic actor came even though his first dream in life was to be a serious singer. In college he majored in music, and as a young man, he set off for New York to audition for roles in operettas and jobs in choirs. But Griffith said the auditions failed to yield him a single offer.

"Instead of being hurt, I just started to wonder what I could do with the rest of my life. And I went home and wrote a few jokes," Griffith said. "That summer, I did my first long monologue, and a man named Orville Campbell came up to me and said, 'I have a record company. Would you like to record "What it Was Was Football"?' And I said, 'Yeah.' "

That football monologue — released in 1953 — made Griffith famous, and helped propel him to Broadway and then Hollywood. Initially, he played a variety of roles, including a maniacal wannabe politician in his debut movie, A Face in the Crowd. But he later settled into the comfortable persona of a wise, Southern patriarch, a role that served him well both in his Mayberry days and on his second TV hit, the law drama Matlock.

Ron Howard played Opie on The Andy Griffith Show. In a 1995 interview on Fresh Air, Howard said Griffith brought a rare down-home honesty to their on-screen relationship.

"You know, they always have the kids in situation comedies be brats," Howard said. "And they really are kids that you kind of think, 'God, somebody ought to just discipline that kid.' But the Andy-Opie relationship was more of a real relationship, where when the kid gets out of line, the father does something about it. And the kid respects the father instead of being just a wise guy all the time. And Andy really took to that, and it's one of the things that differentiates it from what we're accustomed to seeing on sitcoms."

Griffith scaled back his TV appearances after Matlock went off the air. And freed from the burdens of weekly television, he rediscovered the singing career he dreamed of as a teenager. While in his 70s, Griffith recorded a series of gospel albums. Talking with NPR in 1996, he expressed hope that his hymns — like his TV shows — would hearken back to another era.

"Things have changed so much," Griffith said. "People walked away from a simple life we had in the '20s and '30s, and I am glad that I am able to touch that period in our lives with the shows that I do and with the music that I do."

A statue of Griffith as Andy Taylor stands in Raleigh, N.C., the capital of his home state. The inscription reads: "A simpler time, a sweeter place, a lesson, a laugh, a father, a son" — words that Griffith said nicely summarize the legacy he hoped to leave behind.

Copyright 2013 NPR. To see more, visit http://www.npr.org/.

Transcript

ROBERT SIEGEL, HOST:

Actor and comedian Andy Griffith has died. Griffith was a television fixture for much of his career. "The Andy Griffith Show" was among the country's favorite programs in the 1960s and remains popular in reruns today. Griffith was also a movie star and recording artist. Andy Griffith died this morning at his home on Roanoke Island, North Carolina. He was 86 years old. Adam Hochberg has this remembrance.

ADAM HOCHBERG, BYLINE: In a career that spanned half a century, Andy Griffith starred in five different television series, made more than 30 movies and even recorded a Grammy Award-winning gospel album. But one role defined him for generations of fans.

(SOUNDBITE OF TV SERIES, "THE ANDY GRIFFITH SHOW")

HOCHBERG: Griffith was 34 in 1960 when he ventured into weekly television for the first time. The result was an iconic series about an idyllic place, the fictional town of Mayberry, North Carolina, which seemed far removed from the real life turbulence of the '60s.

Griffith reminisced about the role of Andy Taylor in a 1986 NPR interview.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED AUDIO)

ANDY GRIFFITH: We never talked about it, but the backbone of the show and the thrust of the show was love, the deep regard that these people had for one another.

(SOUNDBITE OF TV SERIES, "THE ANDY GRIFFITH SHOW")

GRIFFITH: (as Andy Taylor) Opie, what in the world happened? Who did that to you?

RON HOWARD: (as Opie Taylor) Matt Marilis(ph). He's my best friend.

GRIFFITH: (as Andy Taylor) I hate to think what he would do if he's your enemy. You're a sight. And suppose you tell me how you got yourself all messed up like that.

HOCHBERG: Andy Griffith's success as a comic actor came even though his first dream in life was to be a serious singer. In college, he majored in music and, as a young man, he set off for New York to audition for roles in operettas and jobs in choirs, but Griffith said the auditions failed to yield him a single offer.

GRIFFITH: Instead of being hurt, I just started to wonder, what could I do with the rest of my life? And I went home and wrote a few jokes. That summer, I did my first long monologue and a man named Orville Campbell came up to me and said, I have a record company. Would you like to record "What it Was Was Football?" And I said, yeah.

Both bunches full of them men wanted this funny looking little punkin to play with and one bunch got it and it made the other bunch just as mad as they could be and, friends, I seen that evening the awfulest fight that I have ever seen in my life. I did.

HOCHBERG: That football monologue released in 1953 made Griffith famous and helped propel him onto Broadway and into Hollywood. Initially, he played a variety of roles, including a maniacal want-to-be politician in his debut movie, "A Face in the Crowd." But he later settled in to a comfortable persona as a wise southern patriarch, a role that served him well, both in his Mayberry days and on his second TV hit, the lawyer drama "Matlock."

Ron Howard played Opie on "The Andy Griffith Show" and, in a 1995 interview on WHYY's FRESH AIR, Howard said Griffith brought a rare down home honesty to their on-screen relationship.

HOWARD: You know, they always have the kids in situation comedies be brats and they really are kids that, you know, you kind of think, God, somebody ought to just discipline that kid. But the Andy-Opie relationship was more of a real relationship where, when the kid gets out of line, the father does something about it and the kid respects the father instead of being just a wise guy all the time. And it's one of the things that differentiates it from what we're accustomed to seeing on sitcoms.

HOCHBERG: Andy Griffith scaled back his TV appearances after "Matlock" went off the air and freed from the burdens of weekly television, he rediscovered the singing career he dreamed of as a teenager. While in his 70s, Griffith recorded a series of gospel albums.

Talking with NPR in 1996, he expressed hope that his hymns, like his TV shows, would hearken back to another era.

GRIFFITH: Things have changed so much. People walked away from a simple life we had in the '20s and '30s and I am glad that I am able to touch that period in our lives with the shows that I do and with the music that I do.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "AMAZING GRACE")

GRIFFITH: (Singing) Amazing grace, how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me. I once was lost, but now I'm found, was blind, but now I see.

HOCHBERG: A statue of Griffith as Andy Taylor stands in Raleigh, North Carolina, the capital of his home state. The inscription reads: A simpler time, a sweeter place, a lesson, a laugh, a father, a son. Words that Griffith said nicely summarize the legacy he hoped to leave behind.